The lingering howl of the wolf echoed, mournful and prolonged.
When Losa arrived at the scene, Hans had already donned his previously discarded equipment.
He picked up the bent Armed Sword from the ground, his face full of distress.
Although its quality had been upgraded to five-star, this Armed Sword that had accompanied him into this world did not get enhanced; it remained just an ordinary weapon.
"Don’t be heartbroken, I’ll have Marles reforged a Treasure Sword for you."
Losa approached the werewolf’s corpse, amazed at the massive size of the wolf carcass. He looked up and stared at Hans, asking, "Did you kill it?"
Hans displayed a complex expression of both longing for praise and fear of reprimand.
After all, he’s still a child.
Losa mused inwardly, but his face turned serious as he said, "Next time, remember to notify beforehand, don’t act recklessly, prioritize your safety above all."
Hans scratched his head bashfully, "Sorry, Sir, I was indeed a bit reckless this time. But I just wanted to figure out how the werewolves in this world fight, you know, I’m not a native of the Two Sicilies Wolf Race and haven’t inherited the werewolves’ fighting ways."
"Moreover, transforming is also inconvenient."
Losa nodded, "Indeed, there are understandable reasons."
The Winged Cavalry were one hundred percent loyal to Losa.
But not everyone under Losa’s command were Winged Cavalry.
Hans pointed to the black werewolf’s corpse, lamenting, "This is a pitiful guy. I heard his confession; during a full moon night, unable to control the werewolf’s wild nature, he killed his own wife and son. When he awoke, he found their scattered corpses lying at his feet. Imagine the agony."
"He tried to seek redemption in the Holy Land, but unfortunately, the Heavenly Father did not respond to him. In front of this heretic temple, he used the wrong gesture to seek help, inevitably receiving no response."
"Indeed, a pitiful person."
Losa sighed. Werewolves eating people were certainly hateful.
But the werewolves in this world were also cursed; many times, their evil deeds were beyond their control, making them appear somewhat pitiful.
Yet pitiful as they may be, they still needed to be killed if encountered again.
Hans regretfully said,
"Sir, if he could control his wild nature, I initially wanted to recruit him for you. A werewolf of this massive size would be an unstoppable war machine on the battlefield."
Losa shook his head, "The werewolves of this world are bloodthirsty; I daren’t recruit them as subordinates, or I’d be excommunicated the next day. Come, take this werewolf’s corpse back."
He planned to bring the wolf carcass back for Furinjira’s research.
According to many legends in this world, being bitten by a werewolf meant infection and transforming into a new werewolf, but Losa felt this theory wasn’t reliable.
If werewolves truly had such zombie-like infectiousness, they would have been rampant long ago.
Just then, footsteps sounded from afar.
A group of people carrying lamps slowly approached.
They had a distinctly exotic appearance. An experienced Winged Cavalry whispered, "They’re Turks. Count Reynard has hired a team ; I think they’re called Ghazi Warriors."
The ever-westward migrating Turkic tribes mostly submitted to the Sassanid King’s command.
The Sassanid King generously granted them Asia Minor as a pasture that originally did not belong to them.
And the Turks lived up to their reputation for valor; in recent years, they have expanded their influence relentlessly in Asia Minor, squeezing the Eastern Empire’s forces to the coastlines of places like Nicaea.
In other words, Turkic forces typically inhabit Asia Minor rather than Levant (narrowly, this refers to the eastern Mediterranean coastline). So, why are they in Jerusalem?
Leading them was a Turkic noble.
He inquired in half-fluent Gaulish, "What’s happening? I seem to have heard a wolf howl. Did a wild wolf break into the city?"
Losa gave Ulm a look, and he instantly understood, riding forward two steps, and sternly said,
"Stop! Don’t come any closer, this is Grand Master Losa of the Royal Knight Order. Heretics, return to your estates immediately, or you’ll be considered suspicious."
A Ghazi Warrior drew his Straight Sword angrily, "How dare you speak so rudely to my master!"
The Winged Cavalry behind Losa instantly drew their swords.
The Turkic noble hastily raised his hand, "Don’t misunderstand, I mean no harm, just concerned about wild wolves entering the city and threatening our own safety."
Losa loudly proclaimed, "You needn’t worry about Jerusalem’s security. Jerusalem has already promulgated a ban; please return to your estates immediately."
The Turkic nobles no longer entangled themselves and said straightforwardly, "Alright, I understand. Please don’t misunderstand our intentions. We will leave now!"
The Turkic nobles who had walked a distance away looked somber.
"Prince Jandar, should we take action?"
The Turkic noble known as Prince Jandar revealed a trace of greed in his eyes: "I didn’t expect there would be a werewolf in this Holy Land of heretics. What a pity. How can we steal its corpse from these Franks?"
Not all Turks have converted to Fire Worship. Every nation has a batch of stubborn traditionalists. For instance, among this group of Turks who migrated west, quite a few still hold onto their Shamanism belief in Longevity Heaven.
And Prince Jandar is one of them.
In Shamanism, there is an ancient technique that can inject the beast’s essence blood into warriors, creating a batch of Beast Blood Warriors. This is also the reason Prince Jandar wants to acquire the werewolf’s corpse.
Watching the group leave.
Hans spoke, "Something’s off with these Turks."
Losa nodded, "Indeed, he kept glancing at that black werewolf’s corpse. If the nerves of the heretics in Jerusalem weren’t already stretched too thin, I would’ve locked them up without a second thought."
Jerusalem’s prosperity after the Crusaders’ brutal massacre is closely related to its inclusivity and tolerance.
Baldwin IV also dedicated himself to maintaining the peace between the followers of the two religions.
As a King’s Faction member, he couldn’t act like Count Reynard, attacking heretic caravans or even murdering nobles without reason.
Early the next morning.
The news that the Royal Knight Order killed a werewolf quickly spread throughout Jerusalem.
Last night, the terrifying wolf’s howl, which had a powerful impact and resounded through most of the city, was vividly remembered by many who woke up during the day.
Losa waited, perhaps it wouldn’t be long before Archbishop William would personally visit, on one hand to verify the truth, and on the other hand, likely to request the werewolf’s corpse. This update is available on NoveI(F)ire.net
The corpse might be publicly burned then, and a grand event held to inspire the people.
Furinjira was standing at the highest point of the castle tower in the Royal Palace. She seemed to defy the laws of gravity as she walked on the outer wall of the tower, making Losa’s heart race with alarm.
"Big oaf, can you give me some alone time with the master?"
"Protecting the master is my duty."
"Yesterday, you weren’t always following the master!"
Prajna frowned, realizing she couldn’t argue, so she simply chose to remain silent as usual.
Furinjira angrily said, "You scheming woman! When you hear something disagreeable, you pretend to be deaf and mute."
At this moment, Losa stepped in as a mediator: "Most of the spoils from the robbers have been transported to Jerusalem. Those damaged weapons and armor, given the current shortage, sold for a good price."
"I plan to purchase a few workshops with this money."
Furinjira was somewhat surprised: "Master, are you confident you can defend Jerusalem? If the city falls, wouldn’t your workshops be destroyed as well?"
"Precisely because the war is approaching, quite a few heretic-owned workshops and shops are being sold at low prices. Even if I purchase the workshops, I don’t intend to start production immediately, just to take over the skilled workers."
Losa plans to develop block printing techniques to print theological classics, paired with improved paper-making techniques, ensuring no shortage in demand amidst the strong theological atmosphere in Jerusalem.
Though many of the lower class are illiterate, they can still serve as good souvenirs.
Moreover, improving dye techniques is quite simple.
Thanks to the prevalence of short videos in the previous life, Losa knows several methods to improve dyes, such as using grape skins to produce expensive purple cloth.
The current high price of purple dye is because the dye used by the workers is made from the secretions of a type of shellfish gland, which is extremely rare.
Though this thing is highly profitable, Losa pondered for a long time and decided to keep it tucked away in his mind until he becomes the King.
In his world, the King of France dared to slander the Templar Order’s coat of arms with two men riding a horse as homosexuality and annihilate them.
This shows that wealth without strong armed protection is equivalent to your neighbor hoarding guns while you hoard grain, and could be taken over at any time.
Actually, Losa didn’t want to fulfill his duties as Grand Master, tirelessly working every day, while still pondering money-making ventures.
However, Jorgelisburg is simply too barren; the only specialty is dates and other agricultural products, and the yield isn’t high enough to exchange for enough food to fill the stomachs of all the subjects.
Of course, the iron mine discovered by Marles, if developed, would be a fine industry.
But all this has to be set aside for war.